Freshwater Compatablitly

[KristineNote]

Hello. I currently own a molly tank and a smaller tank for my betta. I own ghost shrimp, black kuhli loaches, and neon tetras with my mollies. So I have some experience with fish.

Anyway I would like to start a new, larger aquarium in my living room. I mean the aquariums in my room just bring so much life and tranquility that I want to make my living room the same way

I was thinking about getting a 29 gal-30 gal glass rectangular tank from LPS. Could the following be a good combo? And I read cory need to be in schools of 6; can I combine albino and panda into one school or just get one type of cory? Do guppies school? If so how many are needed to school? Are guppies like mollies and have to have a male to female ratio? (wikipedia wasn't very clear, sorry for all the questions on guppies - I googled a lot of info on the others though)

First Combo
Panda Cory (max size 2") X3
Albino Cory (max size 3") X3
Upside Down Catfish (max size 4") X3

Second Combo
Either Panda Cory x6 or Albino Cory X6 or a mix of both
Various Color Guppies - if they school, then 6, if they don't, then just 1.

Third Combo
Cory X6
Angelfish X1

Fourth Combo
Angelfish (how many can I have in a 29 gal tank?)
Mystery Snail X1

-
Are any of the combos acceptable for a 29-30 US gal tank? If not, what combo of the fish listed could I put together?

Now should I get sand, gravel, or smooth stones? I plan to have plenty of fake plants and hiding spaces. But no live plants; I have no confidence in keeping them and no driftwood because I'm afraid of it cutting fins. I know to cycle first and to only add max 3 fish at a time. I have a heater, thermometer, filter, but I can't add a lid with the kind of filter I have for a 30gal.

Any other advice is greatly appreciated! I'm here to learn so don't worry about yelling at me if I'm an idiot XD

 

[Kelly-Jo]

I think all of those are acceptable for a 29-30g. The Angelfish should be okay but just keep an eye on their size, theres a chance they may eventually need a slightly bigger tank. The corys would be fine but I'd recommend getting 4 of each rather than three.

You should go with sand if you get corys. I have gravel and corys and it's not a good mix and I want to change to sand as soon as I can. The reason for this is that Corys are very delicate on their undersides and barbels and gravel can damage these. Driftwood shouldn't cut the fins unless there are very sharp bits. I have had driftwood for almost 8 months and have had no problems. Try to keep something over the tank even if it's just one of those plastic evaporation trays to stop water evaporating and fish jumping.

 

[kizno1]

Its best to keep atleast 4 corys of each type because theres a good chance differnt type wont shoal. The angelfish will work fine aslong as the tank is 18" tall. Your plans all look pretty much perfect although i still think you have quite a bit of room left.
I would go for
1 Angelfish
8 Cardinal tetra (look pretty much like Neons but bigger so the Angels cant eat them)
8 Corys (i would go for all of 1 type)
3 Upside down catfish

What filter is it? if its a bit on the smaller side for the tank that stocking will be to much so maybe cut the groups down to 5-6.

 

[KristineNote]

Thank you for the quick feedback! I have some black plastic mesh I can probably use to cover the tank. Would that work?

I have the Whisper 30 Power Filter I got from amazon (http/www.amazon.com/Whisper-30-Power-Filter-gallons/dp/B0002DHY5O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308917284&sr=8-1)

I'll go for 1 type of Cory then, and get 6+ Panda probably And get sand - hopefully they'll have black in. I love the contrast of dark against the beautiful colors of fish.

Cardinal Tetras are sooo pretty!

 

[Kelly-Jo]

It may work to prevent fish jumping out but you will get a great deal of evaporation and will have to keep topping the tank up. Make sure any jumping fish won't hurt themselves on it also.

Panda Cory are really nice and against black sand they will look beautiful.

 

[kizno1]

The filter looks good, so i would say the stocking i said would be about the perfect amount for it to cope with. Could you not get a sheet of acrylic or someting similar and just cut a piece out for the filter to fit in? that way it would keep the water and fish in.

 

[KristineNote]

The filter looks good, so i would say the stocking i said would be about the perfect amount for it to cope with. Could you not get a sheet of acrylic or someting similar and just cut a piece out for the filter to fit in? that way it would keep the water and fish in.

Good idea! I'll see what they have at the LPS and cut around my filter Thank you.

 

[kizno1]

You can even get them condensation trays which come in loads of sizes so there should be one to fit the tank and thats just a thin plastic so you should be able to easily cut out a piece for the filter.